The following is a statement from the Miami Trace Local School District concerning a Fayette County Health Department inspection that was not intended to be released to the Record-Herald:

During the October 1, 2019 inspection of the Miami Trace Middle School by the Fayette County Health Department , the inspector reported that several prepared food items were not being properly reheated to a temperature of 165 degrees. The inspector cited that due to this issue, the person in charge “failed to display good knowledge of critical control points and critical violations were present.”

Upon receiving the inspection report, Miami Trace Food Service Director Gary Campbell contacted the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus to discuss the findings listed in the report. Mr. Campbell felt that many of the violations listed within the report were erroneous. Mr. Campbell believed that prepared foods such as those listed in the report were required to be reheated to a temperature of 135 degrees, rather than 165 degrees as noted in the report. Officials at the Ohio Department of Health confirmed that the violations listed by the local health department were incorrect and that processed and pre-cooked foods are required to be reheated to a temperature of only 135 degrees.

After notification of the error, Fayette County Health Department personnel agreed to return to Miami Trace Middle School on October 4, 2019 to reinspect the operations and found no further issues. Health department officials also informed Mr. Campbell that the original and incorrect October 1 report would not be sent to the media for publication since the information regarding critical violations was erroneous. However, due to an apparent clerical error within the department both the October 1 and October 4 reports were sent to The Record-Herald for publication.

The Miami Trace Local School District takes the health and safety of our students very seriously. While not perfect, district personnel are very proud of our beautiful schools and work hard to maintain a clean and safe school environment. We understand that mistakes can occur during these detailed inspections and look forward to moving past this unfortunate incident. We support the efforts of the Fayette County Health Department in working with us to ensure that safe food products are served to students each school day.

If you have any questions regarding our school meal program, please contact Food Service Director Mr. Gary Campbell at (740) 335-3010.

Go Panthers!